In South Africa in 1971, you could buy a Cortina Mk3 with either an Essex 2.5L V6 or a 3.0L V6 with either auto four speed box or manual five speed box, off the showroom floor. I owned the 2.5L auto estate. From Basil Green Motors, you could buy a Mk3 with a Mustang 5.0L V8. The Granada was also available with a V8. The VW Microbus (Kombi) with Essex 3.0L V6 conversion and straight cut gearbox was also very popular. I had one of these as well - fantastic car. These all came about because Johannesburg, the biggest market, is 6,200 ft above sea level. Today, turbocharging takes care of the power loss, but turbo charging was in it's infancy then. The Fiat Uno 1.6L Turbo sold like hotcakes.
GrahamS - It's not what you hear that counts, it's what you think you hear........
Present Kit: NAD 326BEE, NAD C515BEE CD player, JVC QL-7 DD turntable, JVC Tonearm, Shure M97Ve, Audio Technica AT95EX, Pickering V15, JVC Z1E, Wharfedale Diamond 230s, Visual Rio interconnects and My Ears.